Cooking Goddess - The thing with the boxes and pouches he eats is that he makes these himself for his lunch. So I can continue playing on the computer or reading my book and don't have to stop and fix lunch for him. If I start cooking it from scratch, I will just be making more work for myself. I made the home made mac and cheese one day when we ran out of the boxed mix and now it's my permanent job. LOL

Hoot- Hamburger Helper has not improved. It still has that pasty consistency and tastes like a lot of preservatives.

Here's a link to the nutritional information for Hamburger Helper and similar types of means:

Cooking Goddess - The thing with the boxes and pouches he eats is that he makes these himself for his lunch. So I can continue playing on the computer or reading my book and don't have to stop and fix lunch for him. If I start cooking it from scratch, I will just be making more work for myself. I made the home made mac and cheese one day when we ran out of the boxed mix and now it's my permanent job. LOL

Carol, this is when the idea of "planned leftovers" comes into play. Make a big batch of mac&cheese, divide between two casserole dishes, then bake the bigger one and freeze the smaller. Voila! Dinner tonight, dinner for a night you don't want to waste in the kitchen, and enough leftovers for a lunch or two for DH. Of course when I did that for Himself I had to portion out the lunch part before he dug into that night's supper! Lots of things freeze well or make....oh wait, you metioned he doesn't eat leftovers, right? Ack! Retrain! RETRAIN!

Note: serving size is 1 cup prepared. So how many servings in the DH eating at lunch?

My counter argument would be that the additives in the boxed foods are not helping maintain a healthy lifestyle.

He is probably eating up to 2 cups. He doesn't worry about a healthy life style. If he doesn't get fat and doesn't get sick, he's OK. He really eats crap and is never sick. I eat so much healthier than he does, and I exercise, and I'm fat and have every ailment known to man. It's just not fair. I have a friend who eats the same way he does. Never gains a pound, and is never sick.

Note: serving size is 1 cup prepared. So how many servings in the DH eating at lunch?

My counter argument would be that the additives in the boxed foods are not helping maintain a healthy lifestyle.

I told my Mom that I was happy to fix her those boxed mixes and artificial sweeteners, in the long run she was saving me money. It would not cost me a dime to have her embalmed when she died. She started paying attention to what she was eating and feeding those around her.

__________________“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” - Albert Einstein

I don't mean to be too nosey, but what are your sensitivities to dyes? I ask, because my step-son asked us not to give his son anything with dyes. He has not been diagnosed with anything, but they notice he is more out of control when he eats foods with dyes. He's 5. They don't eat much processed foods, but he likes gummy worms and pop tarts and they have quit giving them to him. I found fruit roll ups and popsicles that do not contain dye.

E102 Tartrazine (Yellow#5 in the USA) is banned in the UK and several other European countries for food and drink use as it has been shown to cause hyperactivity in children. It is also known to cause hay fever, vision and breathing problems, anxiety, migraines, depression, sleep disturbances and general weakness. It is also harmful to an unborn baby therefore pregnant women are advised to avoid it.

Tartrazine is widely used in the USA. It's not only used on its own. It's used in conjunction with other colourings to make orange and green colours for food use. Even so-called "organic" foods may contain it Despite being a synthetic dye, tartrazine can legally be included in organic foods, because the USDA allows processed foods to be certified organic if they are 95% organic by weight.

I have bookmarked that page and will go back and check it out. I have been trying to figure out how I could make these meals home made. My husband likes them. Mostly because when he's hungry he doesn't want to wait for a meal to be cooked. I got him away from boxed mac and cheese by showing him how quickly I can put together a cheese sauce and cook some macaroni. For lunch, he eats a lot of those packaged noodles and sauce, etc. They are quick. and he adds salt to them, too. He is one who adds salt to everything before he even tastes it. We are not poor college students....we are poor retirees. LOL

Poor students or poor retirees regardless, homemade is always cheaper and better. You want it quick? Have a day a month batch baking and making pasta dishes, casseroles, pies, etc., and freeze them down in one or two portions so you can just re heat when you want them. That way you know what went into them, you know how hygienic the preparation was and how long the dish has been in storage and you can always feed unexpected visitors or neighbours in an emergency.

And before you say it's easy for me to talk, yes, it is. I'm retired on a fairly limited income and I wouldn't dream of living on expensive "convenience" foods loaded with fat, salt and fillers with little or no nutritional value. Cooking your own has other hidden advantages. Research indicates that keeping the brain active helps to guard against senile dementia so all that meal planning, measuring of ingredients, up-scaling quantities, writing labels, etc., may keep your brain healthy for longer. My grandmother was still cooking a "proper" dinner for herself and one of her grandchildren everyday until 4 weeks before her death at the age of 89 and we're sure that the food itself and the planning and cooking that went into it was one of the things that helped to keep her fit for so long.

carol, this is when the idea of "planned leftovers" comes into play. Make a big batch of mac&cheese, divide between two casserole dishes, then bake the bigger one and freeze the smaller. Voila! Dinner tonight, dinner for a night you don't want to waste in the kitchen, and enough leftovers for a lunch or two for dh. Of course when i did that for himself i had to portion out the lunch part before he dug into that night's supper! Lots of things freeze well or make....oh wait, you metioned he doesn't eat leftovers, right? Ack! Retrain! Retrain!